A beloved Evangelical pastor and two family members were killed in northern Colombia while outside a restaurant after a church service on Sunday.

A gunman on a motorcycle killed Pastor Marlon Lora of the Prince of Peace Villaparaguay Church, his wife, Yorley Rincon, and 24-year-old daughter, Angela Lora Rincón, in the municipality of Aguachica. Their 21-year-old son, Santiago Lora Rincón, was injured in the shooting.

Lora and his church were part of the Missionaries Biblical Churches (IBM) denomination, in which he traveled to and oversaw nearly three dozen urban and rural churches across different regions in the country, according to the United Kingdom-based watchdog organization Christian Solidarity Worldwide.

The couple’s supervisor, Pastor Giovanni Bermúdez, said Pastor Lora had earlier been concerned about potential threats made against another pastor.

“Marlon was like many of us pastors — we keep quiet about many things so that everything runs smoothly, even while we carry heavy burdens inside,” Bermúdez was quoted as saying.

Lora and his family were also cherished by the Christian community in Aguachica, according to Pastor Divanit Alfonso Calle, president of the Association of Pastors of Aguachica. Ángela worked as a communications and journalism professional for Aguachica’s public utilities company and Santiago serves as a systems engineering student.

The national government announced a reward of up to 50 million pesos ($11,000) for anyone with information about the slaying of the family, the Spanish newspaper El Pais reports.

Mayor Greisy Roqueme of Aguachica declared a curfew on Sunday night.

“We cannot allow violence to steal our hope, so I demand that the National Government, the Minister of Defense and the Public Force turn their attention to the department of Cesar, but above all to the municipality of Aguachica,” Roqueme said in a video on social media, El Pais notes.

The massacre also drew the response of President Gustavo Petro and Director of Religious Affairs of the Ministry of the Interior Alexander Jaimes.

“We express our solidarity with the families of the victims and the religious community,” Jaimes said in a statement, according to the Argentina-based online newspaper Infobae.

Anna Lee Stangl, the director of advocacy for CSW, called on the Colombian government to “ensure protection for religious leaders, who remain at risk of violence and intimidation because of their role as peacemakers in their communities.”

“As the government continues its post-conflict negotiations with the armed groups, including the National Liberation Army (ELN), which is known to target religious leaders in areas where it operates — such as the Aguachica region — we urge the government to recognize victims from the religious sector within the framework of the individual peace accords,” Stangl said.

In October, Colombia’s Ombudsman’s Office reported an increase in violations of religious freedom rights by 31% between 2023 and 2024, which includes “discriminatory treatment towards churches and religious denominations, as well as death threats against religious leaders and authorities.” Death threats increased by 50% between 2023 and 2024.

The murder of Pastor Lora and his family continues a troubling trend of deadly violence impacting Christians in Colombia in recent months, according to CSW.

In November, Ever and Gerson Garcia Velez, brothers who attended church at Valle Del Cauca, were killed by three men on their own farm. On Nov. 11, Pastor Salvador Zapateiro Mercado was killed in circumstances in Cartagena. In August, the home of a pastoral couple was set ablaze by neighbors upset with the services they would hold outside their home.

Colombia ranks as the 34th worst country in the world when it comes to Christian persecution, according to Open Doors International’s 2024 World Watch List.

“[C]hurch leaders continue to be harassed, extorted and murdered due to the violence around control of territories between armed guerillas, drug gangs and other armed groups,” Open Doors warns. “Christians in these areas who dare to speak publicly about corruption and violence face attacks for their bold witness. Similarly, church leaders who oppose criminal activities in their sermons also can be targeted.”
Sources:Christian Post

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Pastor Jack Hibbs of Calvary Chapel Chino Hills is calling on Christians to “armor up” spiritually as they enter the new year.

In his final message of 2024, Hibbs, reflecting on the current cultural climate, encouraged his congregation not to be “unwise” but to understand and embrace the will of God in their daily lives. Drawing from a famous passage in Ephesians 6 in which Paul urges followers of Jesus to “put on the full armor of God,” Hibbs said doing so is essential to standing firm against the spiritual battles Christians face.

“Every day with Jesus is going to be one of, ‘Let’s armor up,’” he said. “So we’ve got to wake up first, and then the next thing we do after our big toe hits the ground is we armor up. We put on the armor of God.

“Christians, listen carefully, you can’t go outside without the armor of God.”

Hibbs reminded the congregation that the challenges faced by believers are not merely earthly struggles but spiritual warfare. He highlighted the importance of prayer, reading Scripture, and remaining vigilant.

“We are in a war,” he said, stressing that “the enemy doesn’t mind us going to church; what he’s upset about is when the church gets hot for Jesus and hot for the Word of God.

“Then the enemy gets all bent out of shape,” he added.

The pastor also shared a memorable analogy, comparing spiritually unprepared Christians to participants in the reality show “Naked and Afraid.”

“Yes, if you are naked you should be afraid, very, very afraid — but how much more so for the Christian?” he asked. “Do not go out into this new year without your spiritual armament on, you will be naked. That’s why you’re afraid.”

Hibbs emphasized that spiritual preparedness is not just about church attendance but actively engaging with God’s Word and living out one’s faith daily. He referenced Romans 12:1, where Paul calls believers to present their bodies as living sacrifices, an act of worship that reflects total dependence on God’s mercy.

He also noted that prayer is integral to maintaining spiritual armor, a principle that even non-Christians understand.

“Everybody prays when something’s wrong,” said Hibbs. “Even the atheist will pray when something’s wrong. The problem is no one’s listening, but for us as believers, pray! That’s part of being armored up.”

Drawing attention to the spiritual warfare described in Ephesians 6, Hibbs explained the theological significance of the armor of God: the helmet of salvation, the shield of faith, the sword of the Spirit, and the belt of truth. He emphasized that each piece is designed to protect believers from the “wiles” of the devil and the spiritual forces of evil that threaten their faith and purpose.

He concluded the message by underscoring that faith, according to the Bible, is “a verb, it’s active” and that “faith never sits still.”

Hibbs illustrated this point with an anecdote about his grandson at the mall, who, while trying to go up an escalator, was “going down” instead, exerting “twice the effort in the opposite direction” and getting nowhere.

He compared the visual to a “backsliding Christian” who, though heading toward Heaven, is “not walking with God” and is instead “going backwards.”

“You’re on the escalator because you’re going to Heaven, but you’re not walking with God, you’re going backwards,” he said. “If you’re backsliding in here, if you’re backsliding right now, where you going? Not going anywhere, but boy, are you sweaty.”

Hibbs concluded by quoting John 14:31: “But that the world may know that I love the Father and as the Father gave me commandment, so I do you. Arise and let us go from here.”

“That is our marching orders for this year,” Hibbs said. “Every day, arise, let us go from here because God’s Will and plan is for us to be ahead every day, amen? And none of us want to miss that, in Jesus’ name.”
Sources:Christian Post

http://theendtimeradio.com

ഫ്ലോറിഡ:പൊതു സ്ഥലങ്ങളിൽ ഉറങ്ങുന്നത് നിരോധിക്കുന്നതും അവർക്കെതിരെ നിയമനടപടികൾ സ്വീകരിക്കുന്നതുമായ പുതിയ നിയമം ജനുവരി 1-ന്ഫ്ലോറിഡയിൽ മിലാവിൽവന്നു .
പുതിയ നിയമം നഗരത്തിന് നല്ല മാറ്റമുണ്ടാകുമെന്നു ജാക്സൺവില്ലെ കൗൺസിലർ പറഞ്ഞു .
നടപ്പാതകൾ, പാർക്കുകൾ, ബീച്ചുകൾ അല്ലെങ്കിൽ മറ്റ് പൊതു ഇടങ്ങൾ എന്നിവിടങ്ങളിൽ ഉറങ്ങുന്നത് ഫ്ലോറിഡയിൽ നിയമവിരുദ്ധമാക്കുന്നത് .
ജനുവരി 1-ന് പൊതു ഇടങ്ങളിൽ ഉറങ്ങുന്നതിനുള്ള സംസ്ഥാനം നിർബന്ധിത നിരോധനം നടപ്പിലാക്കുന്നതിൽ പരാജയപ്പെട്ടാൽ ഫ്‌ളോറിഡയിലെ വ്യക്തികൾക്കും ബിസിനസുകൾക്കുമെതിരേ പ്രാദേശിക സർക്കാരുകൾക്കെതിരെ കേസെടുക്കാൻ അവകാശമുണ്ട്.

തെരുവുകളിൽ നിന്നും പൊതു ഇടങ്ങളിൽ നിന്നും ഭവനരഹിതരായ ആളുകളെ തിരഞ്ഞെടുത്ത് ഭവനരഹിതർക്കായി ഒരുക്കിയിട്ടുള്ള അഭയകേന്ദ്രങ്ങളിലേക്ക് കൊണ്ടുപോകുന്നതിനുള്ള പ്രോഗ്രാമിനായി ജാക്‌സൺവില്ലെ ഫയർ റെസ്‌ക്യൂ ഡിപ്പാർട്ട്‌മെൻ്റിന് ഒന്നര ദശലക്ഷത്തിലധികം ഡോളർ നൽകിയിട്ടുണ്ട്,” കൗൺസിൽമാൻ മാറ്റ് പറഞ്ഞു. കാർലൂച്ചി. “കൂടാതെ, ട്രിനിറ്റി റെസ്‌ക്യൂ പോലുള്ള ഭവനരഹിതരായ ഷെൽട്ടറുകളേയും മറ്റ് ഭവനരഹിതർക്കായി അധിക ഭവനങ്ങൾ നിർമ്മിക്കുന്നതിന് സഹായിക്കുന്നതിന് ഒരു മില്യൺ ഡോളർ കൈമാറി.”

ഭവനരഹിതരായ ജനങ്ങളെ സഹായിക്കുന്നത് നഗരത്തിൻ്റെ വികസനം വർദ്ധിപ്പിക്കുമെന്ന് കാർലൂച്ചി വിശ്വസിക്കുന്നു.
ജാക്‌സൺവില്ലെ ഷെരീഫിൻ്റെ ഓഫീസ്, ഡൗണ്ടൗൺ വിഷൻ അംബാസഡർമാർ, മറ്റ് വകുപ്പുകൾ എന്നിവയിലൂടെ നഗരം പുതിയ നിയമത്തെക്കുറിച്ച് പ്രചരിപ്പിക്കുന്നത് തുടരുന്നു.

ഈ വർഷം, യുണൈറ്റഡ് സ്റ്റേറ്റ്സ് ഭവനരഹിതരുടെ എണ്ണത്തിൽ 18.1% വർദ്ധനവ് കണ്ടുവെന്ന് ഫെഡറൽ ഉദ്യോഗസ്ഥർ പറയുന്നു.

770,000-ത്തിലധികം ആളുകൾ ഭവനരഹിതരായി കണക്കാക്കപ്പെട്ടതായി യുഎസ് ഡിപ്പാർട്ട്‌മെൻ്റ് ഓഫ് ഹൗസിംഗ് ആൻഡ് അർബൻ ഡെവലപ്‌മെൻ്റ് കണ്ടെത്തി, ഇത് കഴിഞ്ഞ വർഷത്തെ 12% ത്തിൽ നിന്ന് ഗണ്യമായ വർദ്ധനവാണ്.
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